None Shall Find Us Wanting
by SSJ2 Future Gohan
Summary: Slgihtly AU - Force Commander Aramus of the Blood Ravens 4th Company has crash landed into the Maple World after a bizzare twist of events in his own universe. But even in the Maple World, he is not free from the presence of Chaos and corruption. With his memories lost and power weakened, can he become a hero again and stop the Black Mage? Mercedes x Aramus
1. By Chapter and Emperor

Disclaimer: I don't own MapleStory or Warhammer40K/Dawn of War 2 franchises. Companies with much more money, lawyers, and power than I do.

For those of you that have been following my other story _Demon Hero and Vampire_, I again want to thank you all for your continued support! As for this story, this takes place right around when Mercedes were released in GMS and after the events of Chaos Rising (during Retribution) took place in Dawn of War 2. The "nameless" Force Commander in Dawn of War 2 and Chaos Rising actually had a name in the novels, Aramus, which is what we will call him in this story. And just for everyone's information, this is somewhat being co-written by myself and my fiancée, Xendica. Enjoy.

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-= None Shall Find Us Wanting =-

- Chapter 1: By Chapter and Emperor… -

"_By Chapter and Emperor, let none find us wanting..."_

Present, Maple World, Victoria Island, Elluel Forest

_He looked around him, or at least he attempted to. The strong thick scent of copper-like blood filled the air around him, his own hand going up towards his eye that refused to open. The tall, well-built genetically enhanced warrior was greeted with the warmth of his own crimson blood. His trimmed brown-blond hair within chapter standards and regulations. And if only for a brief few moments, he retained all of the memories he had, all of them rushing forth like a raging river against a dam. His power armor slightly battered and armed only with a chainsword and a bolt pistol in his hands, he charged forward at the agents of the Black Mage; an evil sorcerer bent on destroying and dominating the Maple World. The agents however, were nothing to be trifled with, as facing two of the Black Mages elite henchman was no joke. The space marine commander felt the familiar sputtering of his chainsword in his hand and fired his bolt pistol immediately at the oncoming henchmen while a furious golden glow enveloped him. Feeling the squishy bits of the green gel slimes he had eliminated earlier, his cry could be heard throughout the forest of Elluel as a certain pointy-eared Queen looked on with awe…_

One day prior, Sub-sector Aurelia, Blood Ravens battle barge _Litany of Fury_

It had been only a few hours after Force Commander Aramus of the Blood Ravens 4th Company, the youngest force commander in the history of the Blood Ravens, returned to the strike cruiser Retribution. Only hours after their harrowing, hellscape battle with the Greater Daemon of Nurgle, Ulkair, and the traitor Black Legion marines, they were greeted by Gabriel Angelos, the de facto leader of the Blood Ravens space marine chapter. The mood was quite somber, Aramus looked to Epistolary Jonah Orion, a powerful psyker librarian, as he looked downwards to the hard steel flooring, while Sterngaurd Sergeant Tarkus remained silent, too pained at the revelation that one of his closest battle-brothers had fallen to Chaos and betrayed them and the God-Emperor they so revered. The wise old scout sergeant Cyrus remained stoic as ever while Techmarine Martellus busied himself with repair rites to the crew's equipment. Aramus looked into the eyes of his senior and looked away in utter shame remembering how Sergeant Avitus betrayed them all and as a result of Aramus failing to see the corruption within the sergeant, cost Sergeant Thaddeus his life whilst trying to stop their fallen brother.

"I have no excuse for my failure, Commander." Aramus spoke first to break the awkward silence. Gabriel looked upon him sternly but then looked at him with a sense of pity.

"It was not your fault; Avitus turned, and as such paid the price for his treachery…" Gabriel said to Aramus. "However…"

Aramus knew where this was going and attempted to cut off Gabriel midsentence but only to be stopped himself.

"However, Commander, you do bear quite a lot of responsibility for using forbidden weapons and knowledge to accomplish the tasks that were at hand. The Inquisition and local Imperial authorities will not overlook this blemish, and sadly Commander, neither can I." Gabriel looked away for a second towards the empty vacuum of space in a sea of stars. "Chapter Master Azariah Kyras has branded you a renegade, Commander and has judged you fit for execution for high treason against the Chapter. However, with the knowledge we have about the rot within the chapter, I feel that Kyras is not fit to judge who is a traitor and who is not. I feel that there is redemption to be found within you Commander…You will take the Retribution and make for the Eye of Terror where you will go on a crusade of penance against the forces of Chaos for one hundred years without support from your chapter brothers here. You may only take one other battle-brother with you, so choose wisely."

With little emotion he turned away from Gabriel, his once-hero and now his judge, and his battle-brothers with whom he'd fought alongside to defeat Ulkair now turned jury. But just then, he called out to his subordinate in Aramus.

"Commander, I also must give you praise for sealing away the daemon Ulkair. Though we will never sing openly of your feats and great deeds until the chapter deems your penance complete, credit must be given where it is due, Commander…" Gabriel said as Aramus' sighed quietly, merely nodding. "For that, you have earned the right to choose any weapons you see fit to take with you and use in your crusade of penance.."

He nodded slowly and turned away. It was a hallow praise and as such, there was no fanfare. He made off towards the Litany of Fury's armory which contained the substantial bulk of all of the Blood Raven's relics and master-crafted weapons. Aramus looked around the array of weapons that surrounded him and found what he was looking for, Thaddeus' chainsword, 'Vengeance of Cerberus'. He placed his old friend's weapon into his storage pack and took his trusted bolt pistol with him along with the plasma pistol he already had as well. He also found an old relic that belonged to the chapter and more specifically the 4th Company. Reclusiarch Mikelus served with Captain Thule in the Kronus Campaign in which Aramus himself participated in with the rank of battle-brother. This relic in question was a astartes-pattern jump pack that allowed one to descend onto the battlefield from the air and back up with ease. Another gleaming relic also caught the attention of the Commander. The relic itself, an iron halo, belonged to Captain Thule that he carried with him into battle and was personally crafted in remembrance of the Hadrian campaign. The iron halo acted as a shield of sorts, protecting from ranged attacks, reduced incoming melee damage, and rendering the wearer invulnerable to damage temporarily if the circumstances called for it. With the iron halo in hand, he left the armory and went towards the Librarium, the home for all of the Blood Ravens powerful Librarians. Librarians themselves were viewed with distrust by more conventional chapters, as all are told to abhor psykers. But to the Blood Ravens, they were a source of knowledge and looked up with reverence by the chapter, and for the longest they've ever known, the office of Chapter Master was also held by their Chief Librarian Azariah Kyras. Kyras himself fallen to Chaos and now a traitor to his own brothers. Rot was eating away at the core of the chapter and threatened to destroy the Blood Ravens forever. He looked for his closest of all battle-brothers, Epistolary Babylon. Armed with a psychically-tuned force sword, a psychic hood, bolt pistol, a boltgun, and his immense knowledge of the warp, he was considered one of the elites of the chapter, but ever so humble in the light of the Emperor, pious more than most. But most importantly, he was Aramus' best friend and brother, aside from maybe Thaddeus. Thaddeus himself was recruited from the hive-world Meridian, while Babylon and Aramus hailed from the same, but unknown planet, where they were found by then Initiate Davian Thule. Though they themselves knew which planet, the records had been sealed off and expunged; and the two plus Thule were sworn to silence.

"I heard what happened earlier, brother. You do not even have to ask, I will join you in your crusade of penance." The psyker told him.

"Thank you, brother…" Aramus said as the two left and headed off towards the craft that would take them back to the Retribution. But waiting was the mighty, but wise Dreadnought Davian Thule. Captain Thule of the Fourth Company who once had a whole body was the first to fall in battle against the Tyranids but came back from death, unleashing his unending holy vengeance upon the enemies of man. Thule had never spoken much when he was a whole person, but when he did, he always did his best to never speak ill of his brothers and always attributed successes to them when they were really his own. He wanted nothing more than to see those under him gain honor and success.

"Aramus…" His cold, gargled voice made out as the dreadnought towered above him.

"Captain Thule, I must depart now for the Eye of Terror…" Aramus said while Babylon busied taking in supplies into the craft.

"I will make sure…The Chapter…Does not forget you…Your heroic deeds…Will…Not go unsung…" Thule managed. "By Chapter and Emperor…Let none…Find you…Wanting…"

Aramus made his way onto the craft and turned back around towards his greatest hero and mentor of all Blood Ravens.

"With Blood and Fury, Captain, may you purge the rot in the chapter…"

With that, they set off towards the Retribution and off towards the Eye of Terror. Hours turned into days, days into weeks until finally they arrived near the terrifying astronomical phenomena. This was a place where reality and the immaterium met, a place where the traitor Chaos marines resided, where unspeakable denizens of the warp called home and sanctuary. They began to approach a daemon world, Torvendis, ruled over by devotees of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of excess and pleasure. At the head of those devotees and a handful of traitor marines of the Violators chapter and hordes of cultist slaves was a powerful witch, Lady Charybdia. Almost immediately the immaterium began to attack the Retribution and soon daemons teleported themselves into the strike cruiser itself. Aside from Aramus and Babylon themselves, there were a few astropaths, navigators, and a skeleton crew to help the cruiser function, but now most of them were dying at the hands of Slaaneshi daemonettes, grotesque, yet graceful and beautiful in their fatal charms. Babylon nodded to Aramus as the two ran towards the drop pod, Aramus readied himself, affixing his iron halo upon his artificer power armor and readying his bolt pistol, making sure it was loaded. The two began to whisper various litanies praising the chapter and the God-Emperor as their drop pod shook violently as it descended into the atmosphere of the hellscape that was Torvendis.

"And of the Assault Marine so do I decree: He shall descend upon the perfidious foe as an Angel of Judgment from on high. Let the jump pack be his wings, and the roar of its engines a hymn of retribution. Let the chainsword be his sceptre of decree, its harsh voice singing joyfully with each and every blow. With it shall the Assault Marine bring bloody retribution to the heretic, the traitor, and all alien aggressors who trespass on the Emperor's domain. So will the Assault Marine be the hunter of warlords and the slayer of kings. His armour shall run slick with the life-blood of the vanquished, and all shall honour his name." Aramus quietly whispered, reciting the very words of the Ultramarines primarch, Roboute Guilliman from the Apocrypha of Skaros. And soon as it was expected, Aramus and Babylon felt the violent crash as the drop pod doors broke down and immediately met with violent hot winds. Looking up Aramus could see the sky, seemingly covered in fire, but looking past that he could also see the Retribution exploding. But worse still, the bad news did not stop there.

"Brother, we have company ahead…These daemons are attempting to gain control of my mind! We must purge and kill everything on this planet if we are to survive this Chaotic onslaught!" Babylon informed Aramus.

"…The Retribution…it's gone…We have no way back home…We are all going to die on this barren hellscape…But we are what we are brother-librarian, we are the Emperor's space marines, his holy sword of retribution…We are Blood Ravens! We fear no evil, we fear no death! For we are death incarnate, and today, as our fates our sealed, so they too shall be doomed for encountering us this day!" Aramus yelled out as his thunder hammer glowed a heavy dark blue, the vengeance of Thaddeus' soul almost screaming out for daemon blood.

"These past one hundred years has been an honor serving under you, Commander." Babylon said as he readied his force sword. "Emperor preserve you."

"Emperor keep you, librarian!" Aramus yelled out as he charged forward, his jump pack beginning to power up. "TODAY I REDEEM THE HONOR OF MY CHAPTER AND OF MYSELF!"

On wings of fire, Aramus descended like judgment dropping down onto the condemned, like the guillotine slicing off the head of the heretic. Immediately as he dropped the impact made a crater several feet wide, knocking back almost all of the daemonettes, stunning a good portion as well. Immediately he lurched forward, the thunder hammer bludgeoning through one of their heads, the rest of her body convulsing uncontrollably while blood sprayed forth like a fountain. Almost immediately he turned around and kicked another in the face whilst impaling yet another, tossing her body into another would-be attacker. The debauched daemonette that was tackled by the oncoming dead seemingly aroused the creature, both of their nude, grotesque bodies rubbing up on each other. If there was no other proof of his strength, then one only needed to see Aramus himself smash his foot into the face of one of the pathetic creatures, blood and eye parts pouring onto the ground like a smashed rotting squash. Immediately he charged forward again with fury, knocking many more back as he fired his bolt pistol deftly, and killing many more while Babylon shot out fiery bolts of lightning. Immediately Babylon scored his own gory kill as his sword sent one of the daemonettes into the air through sheer psychic energy and tossed its bloodied form aside like a rag doll. Almost instantly afterwards Aramus' fury reached a tipping point as he was determined to kill every debauched denizen of that world. He glowed with a certain golden aura and nearly instantaneously Babylon began the movements to cast an archaic buff only known to librarians as the Quickening (or the Veil of Time) on himself and Aramus. Babylon himself felt the inspiring aura of his commander as they both felt the timestream progressing faster for them while they looked like mere blurs to their enemies. Babylon himself specialized in the aspects of time and space manipulation, psychic melee attacks, and shooting bolts of warp lightning. However, he usually fought at Aramus' side, allowing him to concentrate on enemies at range and cast supporting powers while his brother entered into bloody melee. Letting out the most blood curdling battle scream it almost forced the daemonettes to recoil just slightly while he charged forward. With just one fell swoop, all of the daemonettes in front of him ended up knocked back another several feet. Aramus stepped upon one with such force that it leveled the foul creature into the air and almost executing the daemonette with his thunder hammer, blood surging all over his red, ceramite power armor. He then saw oncoming Chaos Space Marines from the Violators chapter. Quickly he switched up his thunder hammer for his chainsword as he saw the traitors come right at him.

"Kill the loyalists! Their bodes will make good sacrifices for Slaanesh!" Yelled one of the Violators, seemingly gaining pleasure from the impending blood bath that was to follow.

"Traitors! Heretics! See here the walking damned!" Aramus once again rose straight into the air and forwards, sweeping down towards the traitor marines like impending doom. Knocking back most of the Violators marines that were oncoming, he proceeded to shower the face of them with bolt pistol shells, completely disfiguring the man. Thaddeus' chainsword cutting through the power armor like it was only butter. This was the blood Thaddeus' soul cried out for, of those who are traitors. More lightning fired forth from Babylon's hand, tearing apart more traitor marines. "Come Babylon, traitor blood has only begun to run! With blood and fury, we will cleanse this planet as is our duty as Blood Ravens! We seek truth and cleanse heresy wherever we find it!"

All of the sudden however, the Violators marines started to fall back. Seeing this, Babylon stopped while Aramus held back. He had seen this before. He once had been far behind enemy lines in a jungle infested with Orks in the Hadrian Campaign. Many Blood Ravens lost their lives defending that rotting jungle but somehow then-Sergeant Aramus managed to bring back his men and himself back unscathed while silencing Ork artillery along the way. He soon saw dividends for his caution as he spotted a powerful Chaos sorcerer, former space marine librarians that turned away from the Immortal Emperor and with that a fiery inferno engulfed the land before them as the Sorcerer laughed heartily before teleporting and appearing before Babylon and Aramus.

"Debauched sorcerer! Your sorcery damns you and your foolish rabble! I will smite you from this world and the next, traitor!" Babylon yelled out as he released a hail of more lightning bolts towards the sorcerer, only to disappear and teleport again, but from the corner of Aramus' eye he was spotted again as more bolt pistol shells roared towards him and charging forward as Babylon used the quickening spell to quicken his own movements and firing lightning everywhere to lure the sorcerer out, but again he disappeared. Immediately Aramus headed in the opposite direction and was actually able to cut him off when he re-materialized into the real world. Furiously, he charged forward, chainsword in hand thinking he had caught the sorcerer by surprise but instead found him smirking his daemonic smile and found himself knocked by the sheer power of the warp, hitting the rocky ground hard as Babylon, quite annoyed with the situation charged forward as well, his own warp energy completing against the sorcerer's. The two dueled in melee with their force weapons but the sorcerer proved too much for the psyker.

"Feel the power of the warp, the pleasurable embrace of Slaanesh…Come brothers, I shall show you the way to your true home!" The sorcerer spoke as he opened a vortex into what one could say was the real world in one sense, but immaterial in another. Aramus spat out his own blood and looked upon him with stoic disgust and prepared his jump pack once more. This was it, the end of the line for both of them as he looked over to his fallen comrade Babylon. He was unconscious and bloodied. Aramus would die, but not without proper vengeance and this sorcerer's head upon his chainsword.

"…By Chapter and Emperor…" Aramus muttered as large wings of fire appeared behind Aramus once more as he leapt high into the air with his chainsword sputtering, going in for the kill it so wanted. "…LET NONE FIND US WANTING!"

Time seemed to freeze as Aramus was in mid-flight towards the Sorcerer. Immediately he could see flashbacks of his time as a Blood Raven. From the beginning, the blood trials he had to endure, the painful process of turning a normal human being into a superhuman, genetically-enhanced killing machine, into that of an Adeptus Astartes. His first trials as an Initiate scout marine. He had always had an affinity for close combat and as such a bolt pistol and a chainsword was his weapon. He remembered the rest of the process that turned him into a full-fledged marine, and soon becoming a part of the Assault Marine Company of the 7th. Further promotions to sergeant gained him much respect and entry into the Blood Ravens 5th Company under then Company Commander and Librarian, Epistolary Seraphis before his mysterious banishment to what they thought was a crusade of penance; one that he would never return from and seemingly Aramus and Babylon were consigned to the same fate. His eventual bump to the rank of Force Commander, recommended by Thule himself and carried out by Chapter Master Kyras placed him in command of a Vanguard Veterans assault squad in the 1st Company and eventually directly second in command to his mentor within the 4th Company. He remembered back further and saw his mentor as an Initiate slay the witch Morga with his bare hands in which was his home planet-turned into a nightmarish alter of sacrifice for the dark gods. He remembered being in such awe of his new Blood Raven savior that he barely spoke when he asked if he and Babylon were alright. Thule did what Aramus could not, despite the fact that Aramus put up a valiant struggle against the witch with only a combat knife and a laspistol. However, this struggle showed Thule a trait that only a true space marine could have; perseverance in the eyes of overwhelming odds. Even before all of that, he could remember far back in his childhood, he had always had dreams of a girl he always went to when he needed to be comforted while scared or sad; a blonde-haired girl with crystal greenish-blue eyes that always smiled at him, a smile that took away all of the pain, the suffering, the madness that he felt. And even if for only a little while, the dark world wasn't such a scary place. Such memories he thought would have been erased and wiped during the implantation processes. Nonetheless, he welcomed this familiar comforting thought. Only this time, he could feel her warm embrace. Aramus knew it was going to be the end…

Time unfroze for Aramus as it all came crashing back to 'reality'. He charged hard into the ground, shaking everything but only to lose his step before he could barely leave a small wound on the sorcerer that at least forced him to drop the staff. The vortex was shrinking but it was too late, Aramus could feel himself being pulled in and watched helplessly as Babylon slowly drifted towards the vortex. He grabbed onto his brother's leg but all attempts would be futile as he got sucked in. The space marine dug his fingers hard into the ground, trying to claw his way back out. He stuck his thunder hammer into the ground, holding onto it for dear life but the hammer itself shattered into two pieces from the sheer warp energies that surrounded the area. However rare for a space marine as it was, his strength finally gave out and found himself swirling away into the shrinking void until both Blood Ravens and the vortex simply vanished from Torvendis…

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Well, hope you enjoyed this! Please leave constructive criticism, comments, and of course, review!


	2. Blood From a Falling Raven

Disclaimer: I don't own MapleStory or Warhammer40K/Dawn of War 2 franchises. Companies with much more money, lawyers, and power than I do.

Hope you all enjoyed my first installment in this story. Enjoy and as always, please leave a review. Thanks!

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-= None Shall Find Us Wanting =-

- Chapter 2: Blood from a Falling Raven -

It had only been one year since the Black Mage's resurrection, and most within the Black Wing organization did their best to keep that a secret as they continued to bide their time; removing every possible form of opposition and the Empress Cygnus herself began to fall under his sway. The Black Mage said little to nothing to his servants, as most of them already knew what their orders were if they were summoned. Meetings were a mere formality within his corrupt organization. It was here, through much sorcery and tearing through the veil of time that the Black Mage foresaw the arrival of a powerful warrior on his way to the Maple World. This one person would end up becoming a hero, someone everyone in the Maple World could rally around and could possibly turn victory back to their favor. The Black Mage would have none of this as he demanded his two of his henchman to track this warrior down and kill him.

"Track down this stranger to the world. You will know what he looks like as our master has told us that he will be substantially bigger than the average person and will be wielding strange weapons and red armor that bears the symbol of a raven with a blood drop. Kill this man, kill him! Do you understand? If you fail, I will kill you instead!" Arkarium bellowed out to the two henchmen covered in a black cloak, their pale, ghostly faces hidden from the Black Mage's top general. The Black Mage himself looked on with fiery glowing eyes that instantly instilled fear within the henchman and Arkarium himself.

"Space…Marine…" the Black Mage growled out.

With that, the two nodded and immediately departed as another entered the throne room, another general of the Black Mage's army, the Demon Slayer…

Present, Maple World, Victoria Island, Elluel Forest…

Aramus felt as if he couldn't breathe, as if the very life essence was being choked out of his body and he wanted nothing more than for it to end. The never-ending nightmare that was his life, crusades that lasted years at a time. The battlefields ever-changing, but the situation was still the same, blood, death, and destruction everywhere. It was a miracle that he didn't lose his mind during those never-ending crusades, but it was his stoic nature that allowed him to survive. His very essence, his life and servitude all in dedication to brother, chapter, and Emperor. Now his life was going to end in this void, and he was going to die…Or so he concluded.

The void itself seemed to stop sucking him in deeper and soon felt a rush of fresh air reach his nostrils. But soon another sensation overtook him; Aramus was plummeting fast to the planet's surface. His armor already taken quite the beating through the last battle with the Chaos marines, daemonettes, the Violators sorcerer, and his power armor began to glow red hot as he plummeted faster and faster towards the lush green planet. The space marine was powerless to do anything to break his fall and soon, he could feel the massive impact that was his planet fall onto the surface. Every inch of his body was screaming out in horrific pain. He looked around him and saw squishy globs of green jelly all over the place. Aramus looked around him, or at least he attempted to.

The strong thick scent of copper-scented blood filled the air around him, his own hand going up towards his eye that refused to open. The tall, well-built genetically enhanced warrior was greeted with the warmth of his own crimson blood. His trimmed brown-blond hair feeling the subtle wind within the lush green forest. And if only for a brief few moments, he retained all of the memories he had, all of them rushing forth like a raging river against a dam.

Nearby however, was a golden blonde-haired elf that happened to be hunting and training on green slimes but was interrupted by Aramus' planet fall. This particular girl wore the royal holly laurels upon her head, an elegant white dress accented with silver armor plating with semi-translucent ribbons flowing downwards, white high-heeled boots, and armed to the teeth with two dual-bowguns and infinite magic arrows. She was no ordinary elf, for in fact she was royalty. Her name was Mercedes, the queen of the elves.

"Ohh! What's that up there in the sky?" Mercedes remarked to herself, keeping her crystal greenish-blue eyes on the falling object in the night sky. Her long flowing hair blowing in the direction of the breeze.

At first she marveled at what she thought was a comet or shooting star, but the object continued to glow brighter and larger and eventually heard the loud, deafening thud of the impact. She fixed her royal tiara upon her head and gracefully, but quickly leapt through the air to find out where this astronomical object had landed. Aramus however was still going in and out of consciousness. He looked around him once again with his right eye, attempting to spot his brother, Babylon.

"Brother! Are you near?! Babylon! Speak to me!" Aramus yelled out as he felt something along with his pain, another sense of overwhelming sadness and dread. Another battle brother he assumed had perished. Thaddeus died only a few short days ago, and now, Babylon was nowhere to be found. If it were in his nature, if his space marine instincts that were hard coded into his mind would let go for just a second, he would have almost found his long-suppressed desire to cry. He immediately shook his head and scoffed at such thoughts.

"I am the eyes of the Great Father; my strength is the sword of the Emperor…" Aramus quietly muttered this old prayer to himself as he attempted to use his eye-piece intel, only to find it sparking as he activated it and for the HUD to display the words _"UNKNOWN PLANET, UNKNOWN COORDINATES, ERROR. SEEK TECHMARINE IMMEDIATELY FOR REPAIR RITES."_

"Emperor damn this infernal device for failing at such a critical juncture!" Aramus yelled out as he turned it off and placed it back into his storage pack in his armor. He then remembered his thunder hammer and immediately saw that it was still in his possession nearby on the ground, but the once mighty weapon was now shattered into pieces on the ground. "This just couldn't get any worse…" he thought to himself.

The hammer itself looked like it could be repaired, but he was no techmarine and even then, he wouldn't know how to re-activate the power field around the weapon. Only Babylon knew how, albeit using the power of the warp. Feeling even worse about the situation, he took and placed the various pieces of the weapon into his storage pack. He then inspected his bolt pistol and much to his relief it still worked along with Thaddeus' chainsword that he had with him.

Very little time had passed as Aramus continued through the forest that seemingly had no discernable path. To say that he was lost was an understatement. It was very quiet, the eerie kind of quiet that gave a lesser man chills. Aramus however knew no fear, but he certainly was well acquainted with pain as he knelt to the ground, attempting to get over his severe migraine as he continued to bleed out from his head and the rest of his battered body. His genetically-enhanced body threatened to give out on him if he didn't get himself to an Apothecary or at the very least a place to rest for a little while.

Not too far back was Mercedes who was tracking Aramus since his planet fall and saw the huge impact crater. She gasped but forced herself quiet as she saw two of the Black Mage's henchman investigating the same area as well. Quickly she leapt back through the air and hid herself with little trouble into a field of purple lilies. The henchmen were far above her level and she knew better to face them directly in combat, lest her life be forfeit. Mercedes used her keen elven sight and also spotted the stranger that crashed into her world, Aramus. For just a second, her heart stopped as she took in every feature of his body. Her pupils dilating and her face slowly turning a slight red, there was something just attractive about the towering space marine.

"For a human, he certainly looks really tall…and big, very big…" Mercedes said to herself quietly but then saw that the henchman had found their target, Aramus. Right as she was going to yell out to him, the henchman already started their attack, removing their cloaks and armed with poisoned daggers. Their poison was pure venom taken from a prehistoric monster in the Maple World long extinct, but deadly still even for a space marine.

"Our master sends you his welcome, strange visitor from the stars…" One henchman said to Aramus.

"…He'd come personally to greet you but then, the Black Mage doesn't deal with those who are about to depart the living…" Finished the other. Aramus was getting ready for his first battle in this unknown planet. Stoic as ever despite all the blood and pain he felt throughout his body. "…After all, isn't that why your pathetic Blood Raven comrade died after we tortured him? He is no more; his soul now belongs to the Black Mage…"

The henchman threw out to him Babylon's Blade of Archarius. Something had snapped in the commander as he took the force sword into his hands. He shook violently as he gripped his brother's weapon tightly as he finally did the unthinkable; he started to feel other raw emotions for the first time in over several decades. He felt that unfamiliar feel of liquid coming through his long-dry tear ducts and finally anguished tears began to spill through. Mercedes covered her mouth in horror after hearing the henchmen speak and finally decided to join the battle. She was not going to let this terrible act go unpunished but right as she did Aramus began to be surrounded by a red aura. This one was different as this was pure rage and fury emanating from him. The chainsword began to rev itself up as he growled out.

"…Babylon…I…" Aramus stammered out. He was going to make these two suffer and then he was going to find the Black Mage and kill him for the Chapter, for the Emperor, and for Babylon. "No more Blood Ravens die this day…NO MORE!"

Immediately he charged forward, kicking them both hard into their stomachs, stunning them both. Aramus kicked one off to the side while he manhandled the other, throwing him into a tree, smashing it down towards the forest floor. Firing his bolt pistol at him he swung and slashed several times at the henchman reeling from his onslaught. The Black Mage's servant had already been wounded several times with the chainsword but Aramus was determined to make an example of him as he slammed him hard into the ground again, bouncing back up from the sheer force and proceeded to stomp him in the face with his ceramite power grieves, blood bursting forth from where the henchman's face used to be. Mercedes gasped once again only this time at his display of power. The other henchman ran up to Aramus, stabbing him clear at an exposed portion of his broken armor as he screamed out in pain, lurching backwards as the venom began to overtake his body. He could see the henchman grinning to himself, cocky that he would finish Aramus. The marine spat out more blood, nearly throwing up more as he screamed out what he thought would be his final words.

"NONE WILL FIND ME WANTING, HERETIC!" With that, Aramus surprised the oncoming henchman, taking his chainsword, slicing his arms off first and then preceded to the finishing blow that resembled more of a summary field execution as he turned his chainsword sideways, the teeth of the serrated edges sliced and gnawed its way into his stomach. More blood spilled out as the chainsword revved up faster and finally split him in two as Aramus screamed out in fury and agony.

His chainsword flew hard into the ground, immediately stopping whilst clutching hard onto his bolt pistol as he collapsed onto his knees, his body slowly but surely succumbing to all the grievous wounds from battling on Torvendis and his first battle in the Maple World. Mercedes rushed out towards him to help Aramus in any way she could. Not knowing or seeing who it was Aramus assumed she was another enemy that needed to be killed as he pointed his bolt pistol straight towards her head as she stopped dead in her tracks. She placed her hands gently into the air as she attempted to reason with Aramus. He spotted her pointed ears and automatically assumed she was xenos (alien), specifically Eldar (elves). Amongst their hatred for traitor legionnaires, they were hard coded from the start through massive amounts of genetic alteration and mind programming that they were to abhor all xenos and to serve and protect mankind and the Emperor.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!" Mercedes rushed over quickly but was met with a most cold greeting.

"Back…AWAY FROM ME! WITCH!" he screamed out, coughing more blood out. It was obvious that his injuries were getting to him and becoming more and more delusional from the major blood loss he was experiencing as well as the poison. His hands shook as he tried to keep the bolt pistol steady as he backed away, Mercedes stepping towards him, trying to get him to calm down. "STAY…AWAY!"

"I am Mercedes, Queen of the Elves of Elluel. I don't know who you are, but please, I mean you no harm, I only wish to help you. Please, let me help you, your bleeding profusely!" Mercedes gently told him. Aramus struggled to keep his eyes open and on his feet. All he could see was Mercedes' petite figure, her blond hair waving in the night breeze. He threw up more blood as he dropped the bolt pistol and right before he fell; Aramus could see her crystal blue-greenish eyes that comforted him in the past. He looked up at her with anguished tears falling, attempting to say something but was unable. With that, it all went dark for him as he fell towards the ground, but was caught by Mercedes, finally ending up in her arms. It was only a few short moments ago that he threatened her life with his bolt pistol but she couldn't help but cry for him as she held him tightly. She would have to work fast if she was going to at least try to save this human's life.

Mercedes didn't nearly have the strength to get Aramus back to the village. Looking back at Aramus and then back towards the village, she whistled to summon her unicorn mount and placed a note on her calling for help back to the village. She watched it run back towards Elluel as she sat down with Aramus' battered body close to hers. She barely knew the man she was holding so tightly in her arms, but something about him drew her closer. Sighing quietly she leaned back against a fallen tree and seeing the bloody remains of the henchman from earlier. Battles normally didn't get all that violent in that world, but it didn't mean it never happens.

An hour later, her unicorn returned with several of the villagers rushing to help their Queen back onto her feet and all of them placing Aramus onto a carriage. Danika and Philius were also close by, curiously inspecting the injured space marine.

"Who is he? Where'd he come from, your highness?" Philius asked.

"…He fell from the sky…Other than that, all I know is that he's severely injured and his injuries appear to be from a much earlier battle. All on his own, he took out two of The Black Mage's elite henchman. And he was wielding that strange chainsaw blade and that even more peculiar gun." Mercedes said as she sighed.

"I think we should leave him here! He can't be trusted in the kingdom!" Danika countered as she angrily protested to her queen.

"It isn't within our nature as elves to turn away those in need of aid, and it isn't something I do either. My mother always taught me to help those who can't help themselves. This man, by killing the two henchmen, kept the Black Mage's army from attacking Elluel. I will take care of him personally in my own chambers." Mercedes responded back, Danika about to state her protest further.

"Danika, I think her highness has a point. It's obvious that this strange man was a high priority target for the Black Mage. He must be something special for him to garner that kind of response after he fell to this land. From the way it was described, this human had the strength of ten humans and the battle wisdom of a seasoned warrior. That combination alone would give the Black Mage something to worry about." Philius chimed in once more as he turned to Mercedes. "I think it would be in our best interests if we kept him safe in the kingdom for awhile. His strength will definitely come to big use to us in our fight against the Black Mage."

"PHILIUS! I will not have this man coerced into anything while he's comatose! That's not right and I will not have it!" Mercedes responded again, overruling her elder council. The other two backed off, knowing well they wouldn't win. Eventually, they got back to Elluel, helping Aramus into her royal bath which looked more like a giant tub. Mercedes had all of them leave despite more protests and finally went to the task of removing Aramus' power armor, piece by piece. Eventually she got him down to his scarred body, the scarring coming from years of endless battles, genetic manipulation, surgery, and implantations.

Focusing quickly on his many wounds, she first began by giving Aramus some herbs to help fight the poison from the henchman's dagger. His breathing became much steadier afterwards and soon, much to her surprise, his natural bodily functions were accelerating his healing, but even so, he lost a lot of blood and wasn't nearly out of the woods yet. Mercedes got her sponge and very gently began to scrub his unconscious body of all the blood, fresh and dried, off. She couldn't help but blush as she tried to look away from his naked form, but could not resist taking peeks at him. When she got to a particularly sensitive area, she looked up guiltily with an even bigger red blush than before. Eventually she got him cleaned and bandaged him up around his wounds and had him dressed and with some help, up into Mercedes' personal royal bed. Aramus at this point was still unconscious, but his mind replaying events of years past; old crusades, old battles, and old brethren.

In the distance, he could see Sergeant Avitus in the clearing on the ice world of Aurelia. He had clearly turned traitor and at this point was wearing the Honor of the Blood Ravens, an elite terminator armor that had been painted over in Black Legion colors. Avitus himself was armed with an assault cannon and cyclone missile launchers and had it not been for Thaddeus, he and the rest of the Blood Ravens under Aramus' command would have surely perished.

"Thaddeus! NO!" Aramus yelled out as his breathing became more irregular, stirring up Mercedes from her sleep nearby on the ground. His vision persisted on further as he saw Thaddeus and his squad of vanguard veterans jump into the fray, attempting to buy Tarkus time to get in that killer shot with his boltgun armed with kraken bolts while Jonah shot out bolts of warp lightning towards the fallen Avitus. But Aramus' warning came too late as Avitus caught Thaddeus just a few steps behind him, seeing his brother cut down to pieces with the assault cannon by another brother who was now a traitor to the Chapter. The Blood Raven commander screamed out in agony as Mercedes quickly attempted to soothe him.

"He must be having terrible nightmares…I wonder what kind of horrible things he's seen in his life that robs him of peace like this…" Mercedes quietly thought to herself as she placed a cold, wet rag over Aramus' forehead as he breathed heavily. However, she noticed something move within the royal chambers from the corner of her eye as she drew her dual bowguns. It was a masked bunny monster that belonged in the Black Mage's organization. He was here to finish the job that the other two henchmen failed to do; only now he had the added bonus of killing Mercedes as well. Quickly she fired at him, a volley of magic arrows hurling it towards the masked assassin as he jumped from place to place. He quickly attempted to go in for the kill on the weakened Aramus, his katana drawn but only to be struck down by Mercedes' rising rush, pushing him backwards. He smirked at her, only to grab Aramus' bolt pistol to bring back to Arkarium to assess enemy technology and quickly disappeared into the dark night as quickly as he came.

Aramus soon began to groan out in severe pain as he stirred, slowly waking up. The atmosphere around him looked completely unfamiliar, foreign, and yet, it felt like he was being welcomed back, like he'd been there before. He also felt a strange, soft sensation, a feeling he hadn't felt since childhood; the feeling of waking up in a real bed with soft sheets, blankets, and pillows. For a space marine, this was a real departure to spending nights resting against a hard steel wall or the Apothecarion's steel beds. He quickly looked around him as he swore he was in a battle somewhere, watching someone close to him sacrifice himself. He began to panic and shook involuntarily as he slowly got up out of bed. His legs were still weak and his strength had been mostly drained, along with his great difficulty to focus his vision as Mercedes attempted to get him back to bed. He again, backed away but couldn't figure out why. Who was she? Why was he backing away from her? Perhaps, the better question to ask was who was he? When he did get to that particular question, he had not the faintest clue of what the real answer was.

"_I am the eyes of Vidhya; I am the sword of the Emperor…"_ Who were these two important figures that sought to dominate Aramus' thoughts at every turn? He kept thinking about what possible significance there could be, but one other battle cry preceded all other thoughts. "By Chapter and Emperor, let none find us wanting."

Again, who was this Emperor that sought to have Aramus' complete loyalty and devotion; all of it confounded and scared the space marine.

"Who…who are you? Who…am I?" Aramus cautiously asked Mercedes as he backed away further into the wall. This time he was shaking scared.

"I don't know your name, but I hope to learn it and much more about you, mighty warrior. Again, I am Mercedes, Queen of the Elves of Elluel. I…helped bring you back to my kingdom and got you bandaged up. You were badly hurt…But really, it was you that saved me. If it weren't for you, those two Black Mage henchmen would have killed me and Elluel would have been destroyed. Th-…Thank you kind warrior." She responded, looking down towards the ground, attempting to hide her blush that crept on her face.

"Oh my…what's wrong with me? I can't seem to look him in the eyes without…" Mercedes thought, afraid to complete her own sentence in her mind.

"The…Black Mage? Where did I come from, who am I…" Aramus stammered out as he slowly began to lose balance once more and collapsed forward into the ground.

Mercedes quickly grabbed him, softening the blow of his fall and proceeded to get him back into bed. "It must be terrible to not know who you are and forget everything around you" She thought to herself as she gazed at the now unconscious space marine. Her thoughts concentrated on Aramus as she drifted back to sleep.

Somewhere near the Black Mages hideout near the Temple Of Time…

"How long does it take to destroy one person?!" the Black Mage yelled as his fist slammed down on the hard ground, shaking the temple walls.

"My…My lord, we shall f-…find him soon" one of his henchmen said in fear as he saw someone enter the room.

The masked bunny entered the temple with a sort of grin on his face, satisfied that he did better than he thought.

"Did you finish him like I asked of you, you pathetic weakling?!" The Black Mage demanded some answers. The masked bunny tilted his head to one said with his usual smirk.

"You asked me to take care of it and I did better than my lord had asked of me." Looking down rummaging through his brown pouch he reveals the bolt pistol taken from Aramus. The Black Mage's eyes widened with a fierce red glow as the bolt pistol laid into his hands.

"You think THIS is better than destroying that creature!?" He said with a strong harsh voice as he slowly rose from his throne. "This confirms what I had suspected all along. How many… HOW MANY of those loyalists are in the Maple World!?" His anger rose further as he instilled fear into his subjects.

"W…We don't know my liege…"

"You don't KNOW?! If there's one thing I have taught you ignorant fool is that knowledge is power! It seems to me you are lacking both! I have had enough of your weak and pathetic existence; you are too incompetent to handle a simple task let alone follow orders." The Black Mage exclaimed as he raised his hand to have the masked bunny taken away to be executed.

"Get to work! Find him, and if there are more, wipe them from existence. Bring his head back as proof you did as I asked." Most around the Black Mage found his obsession to hunt down these newcomers perplexing as really they seemed no different than the multitude of adventurers, heroes, Cygnus knights, and resistance members all out to oppose him. But they were not the ones to oppose their dreadful master as they wanted continued existence.

Present, Afternoon, somewhere near Edelstein…

Much unlike Aramus, Babylon had a much easier time with his first landing onto the Maple World. Luckily for Babylon, he woke up in time to notice that he was in free fall and immediately used his psychic powers to teleport himself safely onto the surface. He was wary of venturing to far into the nearby town he saw, Edelstein and had been circling the town for days, killing off various monsters nearby. However he wasn't to go on undetected for much longer after that as three of the Black Mage's armored henchman approached him.

"Identify yourselves! I am Epistolary Babylon of the Blood Ravens 4th Company!" Babylon called out to them but was met with only deathly silence as they charged in faster for their attack.

Their armor looked strangely familiar, but the color was off. A dark grayish-black color was painted on theirs but their bodies appeared to have no corporeal form but rather a dark aura of sorts. They soon began unleashing their melee attacks upon the psyker but immediately he shot back with his bolts of lightning, smiting one of the armored henchmen from existence. The remaining two began to circle him in either direction as he began to use the veil of time power in order to speed up his attacks by going faster through time. Immediately he charged forward, swinging his sword, completely disintegrating the armored foe with his psychic energies. However Babylon's psychic power was drained from the previous battle and the henchmen were already pressing the attack as they grabbed onto Babylon, slamming him twice into the hard ground and down the mountain face until he fell at the bottom. One of the henchmen turned around and took Babylon's Blade of Archarius with him. The thud below was deafening as the psyker fell hard onto the rocky ground. He looked up once and saw brown-uniformed man approach him as he lost consciousness.

A few short hours later, Babylon woke up from his unconscious state and looked around. He still had his psychic hood and power armor on which was a good sign. But something distressed him as he realized that he no longer had his sword, his main weapon. Only moments after he woke up did he see someone approach him in what appeared to be an Apothecary. A scruffily dressed man approached him and appeared ready to shake Babylon's hand.

"Hello stranger from the stars, I am Brighton. Welcome to the Resistance." He said as Babylon attempted to get a read of this person.

"Sir, what Imperial planet is this? In what star system? And where is my sword?" Babylon asked.

"Why sir, this is Earth, and we're in the solar system I think…At least that's what it was the last time I checked, and you weren't found with any weapon, sorry." Brighton replied.

"Holy Terra?!" Babylon exclaimed. But he looked around and saw that this was nothing what people had described Holy Terra to him as. It was supposed to be one giant monastery but instead he found many open fields and lush forests from earlier in Terra's history. "You're a Terran…Tell me, where is the nearest Imperial authority? I must speak with someone within the Administratum."

"Um, if you're referring to the Empress, she's in Ereve, very far away from here. What's your business with her? And what's an Administratum?" Brighton asked as Babylon slowly backed away, realizing that he had traveled not only through time, but through another reality as well.

"It's…nothing. I'm just a newcomer here, that's all. So, your organization is the Resistance…What exactly are you resisting against?" Babylon inquired.

"The evil Black Mage of course. He's a terrible sorcerer bent on taking over the Maple World as we know it. And his Black Wing army has taken over the town of Edelstein, our home. Up to now, we all thought it was a rumor, but they indeed succeeded in resurrecting the Black Mage. And now there have been reports of strange black and gold armored knights attacking our lookout posts. From what I hear, they are very powerful. So you can understand why if at first we're all suspicious of you. But as for me, I think your clean and one hell of a battle mage. I saw you take out two of those armored henchman of his!" Brighton continued.

"The connection to the warp…It's not as strong anymore, I feel devoid of most of my power…what happened?" Babylon asked again, beginning to panic, trying to harness what little of the psychic energy he had.

"You were badly injured after you took that fall off the mountain. You're lucky to even be able to walk right now."

Babylon sighed. He had no idea what happened to his brother as he last remembered seeing him charging at the Violator's sorcerer. He had no way of knowing if Aramus made it through or not, but with any luck, he'd see him again somewhere on this planet.

Present, Afternoon, Elluel…

The sun had long before arisen as Aramus continued on his comatose state. The windows had been opened as a cool breeze began to collect into the royal chambers of Mercedes. Talk and rumor had spread all throughout the quiet elven village of Elluel of a male human that fell from the stars and had the strength of ten men. Some responded with enthusiastic optimism while others expressed a cautious hope that Aramus was the 'foretold one'. Still, others responded with skepticism and unabashed fear of this stranger. For since his strength was so great, he indeed had the power to destroy the entire village, its 'magic', and wipe out the last remaining bastion of the world's remaining elves. Though still in a coma, his body was rather calm as he continued to slumber in a state of deep unconsciousness while Mercedes, stayed at his side, barely dressed in a see-through white gown she normally wore while being in her private chambers of her royal abode. A knock presided at her door as she quickly through on another thicker robe and answered, it was one of the Elder advisors to her royal court, Philius.

"Sorry for disturbing you, your highness. But might I have a word with you?" Philius asked as Mercedes nodded and motioned for him to come in.

"What is it that you seek my ear for Philius?" Mercedes asked as she never let her eyes wander away from Aramus on her bed.

"How is our 'little visitor' from the stars doing?" Philius asked.

"His condition stabilized and his wounds are healing, thank the Great Spirit!" Mercedes exclaimed happily. Philius looked upon Aramus with inquisitiveness but suspicion as he cleared his throat.

"I read through some ancient texts left by humans over the eons. And each of their sacred texts describe an all-powerful man that comes at some point in the future to 'lead' the forces of light and vanquish the darkness for all eternity. Here, let me read this little excerpt to you from an ancient Perion glyph." Philius continued.

"_With great wings of fire and light_

_Powerful men dressed in radiant red armor_

_Their strength be numbered by the tens_

_Each impervious to all swords, powers, projectiles of all ages_

_Not even plague, nor natural disaster that does not burn with fire can fell these men._

_They ride in with chariots fueled by light and fire_

_Their mighty knowledge that surpasses even the grandest librariums_

_Their mighty machines far beyond our fathoming_

_Their mighty weapons harnessing the power of the universe_

_With one swift movement they may destroy our world many times over._

_But one of them, gallantly descending from the sky enveloped in light_

_Shall fall to the earth, dressed in brilliant golden armor_

_Bearing the sign of knowledge and power_

_Shall he lead man with the crack of his thunderous hammer_

_Splitting the earth below, setting a sunder all darkness."_

"You asked me to look through his belongings, including his weapons that were not already stolen or completely destroyed. His armor was gilded just as the text described, and the demonstration of his strength makes his power quite obvious to even those with the simplest minds. Your highness, he is the savior of the humans…But suppose we use this man for our own ends, we could use his power to shore up our dwindling numbers, elves would rule and dominate these lands once more!" Philius exclaimed.

"Philius! You should not speak of doing such things. For the Great Spirit's sake, he is still unconscious!" Mercedes exclaimed. "And, interfering with prophecy can lead to disastrous consequences for us as a whole. Do you really want to risk enraging the surrounding human populaces who happen to believe in that legend?"

"My deepest apologies, your highness. I should not have spoken out like that." Philius backing off a tiny bit but looking towards Aramus with manipulative schemes.

Picking up the damaged hammer, Mercedes looked heartfelt at Aramus once more then quickly turned towards Philius. "No one else must know of what we have just spoken of. It has to remain a secret, for if this knowledge falls into the Black Mage's hands… I am fearful that at this weakened state, he will simply fall. I MUST help him regain his memories and his power."

"How will you do that your majesty? He is ten times stronger than any man we have ever come in contact with. What if he is violent towards you? I cannot allow that to happen!" Philius responded. "And don't think I haven't noticed your eyes for this peculiar human…What would your late friend Freud think?"

"I shall train him myself like how Freud trained me and I will help him through these hard times. I also add that it is really none of your business what happened between me and Freud or anyone else." Mercedes snapped back hastily as she tried hide her creeping red blush, glancing over to Aramus again but then quickly shook her head and looked back to her elder adviser. "So before you anger me any further, you best had take your leave and let me get back to nursing this man who saved my life. I also remind you, do NOT breathe a word of this to another soul or there will be consequences."

Very slowly Aramus opened his uninjured eye, wincing in all kinds of unfathomable pain that would render lesser men to madness. Even if it were for only a moment, just briefly Aramus could remember everything. He was tired of being held down by his own wounds, determined to show his stoic mettle and his defiance against circumstance he stomped on his feet, briefly forcing Mercedes and Philius to recoil a tiny bit. Aramus warily eyed the queen who had been his nurse for the past day or so and then to the elderly Philius, backing away from them. And just as quickly, Aramus forgot it all, all memories to be lost in the void of his mind. Immediately Philius approached Aramus as the space marine bucked backwards again in fear. He was cold, naked in front of two alien strangers and he had absolutely no idea what was even going on or what they might have possibly done to him during his long slumber.

"So I see your awake strange visitor from the heavens…Your arrival to this world has created quite the stir. I am Philius, one of the village elders and adviser to her royal highness, Queen Mercedes of Elluel. What is your name strange visitor?" The old elf asked the young space marine. Aramus attempted to remember what his own name but he just hadn't the faintest clue and shook his head in slight disorientation. "Don't worry, you'll have time to figure that mundane detail out later. First, I want to discuss the terms of you continuing asylum within Elluel. Now I recognize your mighty strength, it makes you seem like a god amongst men. In return for asylum all we ask is that you help fight the Bl-"

"PHILIUS!" Mercedes screamed at him, earning a shocked stare from the elder. "What the hell Philius? What did I just tell you a little while ago! You can't just conscript a stranger and force them to fight your battles for you! He's not a slave, we cannot predetermine his destiny!"

Without their knowledge, Aramus had already spotted the chainsword he came there with and pointed it towards the two. He shook violently, sweating, completely unsure of what reality was.

"I just want my clothes back, I want someone to tell me who I am, where I am, and why I'm here…" Aramus stammered out as he felt a familiar thought creep up in the back of his mind. "I…I…I don't want any trouble, I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want what's mine back!"

"_Knowledge is power Blood Ravens, guard it well…" _

His last sentence that came from his mouth felt foreign. Aramus didn't want trouble or wish to inflict harm upon a xeno? It sounded much less like a Space Marine and more like a frightened child in a genetically-enhanced monster's body. However, despite all the strange, anomalous emotions he was experiencing, he felt as if he was remembering long-dormant memories that have since his recruitment into the Blood Ravens chapter been suppressed. The whole situation was very frightening for Aramus but then looked to the crystal blue eyes of Mercedes and suddenly felt a wave of calm overtake his body.

"Honored visitor, you saved my life, do you not remember your heroic feats? Your display of overwhelming power? Do you not remember oh armored warrior from the stars?" Mercedes reached out to him but immediately blushed and looked away while Philius eyes' widened at the spectacle before them. There Aramus continued to stare at the elven queen with his penis completely erect, pointing towards Mercedes. Her words triggered an old memory he had during childhood of the comforting golden blonde female figure that visited him in all of his dreams. Aramus' mindset was that of a child's and far as it was concerned, he couldn't help his carnal feelings coming back to the surface that had been long suppressed for decades.

"Oh…my…I-" Mercedes stammered out as she continued gazing upon the space marine's erect member, twitching, almost begging for her hand to reach out and lightly touch it. And if Philius wasn't in the room, she may have actually considered doing so. Danika however, was infuriated by Aramus' display of his feelings towards the queen as she ran into the room with her bowguns drawn.

"How dare you insult and defile her royal highness with your filthy display, human!" she yelled out as Mercedes attempted to silence her.

Immediately Aramus felt a wave of disgust overtake his body. A voice inside of him admonished him, punished him for having those kinds of feelings.

"_You are a disgusting traitor! Your sole duty is to protect and serve the Immortal Emperor! Wash your sins with their xeno blood! Kill them all!" _The voice inside posed as his most revered deity but the voice just didn't seem to match. Nonetheless Aramus was torn between everything within himself and now he had another person that was likely going to attempt to kill him. Naturally, it was only right he defended himself and kill her before she could do the same. He raised his chainsword again, as if he were ready to battle Danika, Mercedes' adviser in all things war-related and her personal royal bodyguard but now he seemed unsure how to use his own bulky melee weapon.

"Get back! Or I'm going to kill you!" Aramus yelled out, feeling cornered as Philius looked with veiled amusement while Danika was escalating the tensions even further. Mercedes pleaded to her adviser to lower her weapon but that plea went on deaf ears. Immediately Danika took the initiative and fired several magic bowgun bolts and awkwardly Aramus dodged but another arrow pierced into his left arm as he screamed out in pain. She approached closer to come in for the killing blow but immediately with his all of his Herculean strength he fought back with swings of his bulky chainsword, Danika deftly dodging all of his strikes. She then knocked his sputtering sword onto the ground and fired a bolt from her bowguns but much to her shock and Aramus', a bright golden glowing energy barrier protected him from the killing blow. It was his iron halo that had conferred its blessed protection to him. The force from the barrier was so strong that it sent Danika flying back hard into the back wall of Mercedes' chambers. He stared at all three of elves in front of him, backing away from them as he fell back into the darkness once more. Mercedes immediately leapt forward into the air and caught Aramus before he could fall to the ground. Upset, she yelled out to her advisers.

"By the Great Spirit! Oh my g-! How dare you both defy the will of your queen and sovereign!" Mercedes held onto the warrior tightly as her legs were spread apart to accommodate his much larger frame as she angrily stared back at her advisers. "Just both of you, just leave and get out!"

"But your highness!" Danika protested but was met with an even sterner look and even she knew not to test her queen's patience and the two advisers left her royal chambers. Very slowly, Aramus opened his eyes and muttered out the words that Mercedes' keen elven hearing barely picked up.

"It was you the whole time…You were her…" Aramus croaked out, unable to say another word from extreme exhaustion. This time however, he completely surrendered himself to Mercedes and never in his entire life did he feel this much warmth and comfort.

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Well, hope you enjoyed this! Please leave constructive criticism, comments, and of course, review!


	3. Astartes

Disclaimer: I don't own MapleStory or Warhammer40K/Dawn of War 2 franchises. Companies with much more money, lawyers, and power than I do. Enjoy!

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None Shall Find Us Wanting

- Chapter 3: Astartes -

Night had fallen on Elluel once again as Aramus continued in his long, exhaustive slumber. Slowly, and once more, he opened his eyes and slowly got back onto his feet. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, or who he even was for that matter, but he felt much better as his space marine body had been busy healing itself the past day or two. The room again looked quite foreign and unfamiliar, but it was a nice, comfortable room to say the least. Aramus recalled to himself that rooms like this were usually reserved for people of renown like an Inquisitor, Planetary Governor, or Chapter Master of a space marine chapter. This recollection of a random fact spurred on further confusion within Aramus' mind as he had no idea what or who those three supposed important titles were or meant. As he looked around the room he found himself doing stranger and stranger things his own subconscious remembered but his mind just couldn't recall.

"I am the eyes of the Great Father, and the sword of the Emp-…" Aramus stopped himself before he finished off his usual morning rite. Who were these two important figures that sought to dominate all of his thoughts, his actions, and the very purpose of his existence. "…Emperor…"

Nearby the side of the bed, Mercedes sat back in her rather comfortable-looking plush recliner. The elven queen was fast asleep as she had spent all day and night looking after the mortally wounded space marine. Almost out of instinct, he quickly scanned the area for any other presences. He could make out no others and then turned his attention back to the sleeping Mercedes. Aramus pieced together things that had taken place within the recent day and remembered that it was her that took him in and nursed him back to his nominal state. Some voice inside of him told him that she was something to be abhorred, to be hated, and the voice commanding him to kill the xeno that slept before him. But yet, his heart said otherwise as he felt himself becoming more and more enamored with Mercedes. Is this the raw emotion that normal humans called 'love'? No, that just wasn't possible. A space marine could never feel love, it was completely foreign to him. And to love an alien was treason, but why? Why was it treason? Why would he feel like a traitor if he couldn't match reason with action? He shook his head and reached for his chainsword, his face that of a ruthless, efficient, genetically-enhanced killing machine. His mind prodded him to go through with the execution of the xeno witch. After all, it was kill or be killed by the foul alien, but again his heart nagged at him, reminding him that she saved his life and again hesitated. The voice goaded him on once more.

"_You are a traitor, Blood Raven. What would your pathetic corpse Emperor think of such…treasonous scandal from one his very own Angel of Death? Oh young Raven of the Corvidae, son of Vidhya. You Blood Ravens prize knowledge above all. 'Knowledge is Power' as you Blood Ravens are keen on saying so often. But how little you remember or know about yourself…"_ The voice told him as Aramus shook, the chainsword shaking in his trembling hands as he attempted to block out this foreign intrusion into his mind. But to no avail, he was no psyker and no Babylon to save him this time._ "Kill the elven queen…Kill her…KILL QUEEN MERCEDES! YOU KNOW IT IN YOUR SOUL THAT YOU CRAVE BLOOD!"_

Aramus trembled further, and for all the strength he had, he felt utterly powerless to defend himself against this mental onslaught. Tears began to form in his eyes once again.

"Stop it! Get out of my head!" Aramus yelled out but the voice only laughed in his face.

"_Oh what's this? Tears? The mighty 'Hero of Typhon' and the 'Bane of Ulkair' actually cries like a cowardly, mewling infant? How pathetic…"_ The voice continued as he let out a wicked laugh. _"Glory be to your…Corpse Emperor!"_

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHEN I FIND YOU I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Aramus yelled out again only to be received by disturbing silence, this time Mercedes slowly awoke from her slumber and saw Aramus kneeling, holding both hands to his head as if to block out something. He closed his eyes, but then felt the warm gentle touch of Mercedes' hand upon his cheek.

"What is wrong, visitor from the stars?" Mercedes softly asked as she held Aramus tight and close to her warm, almost inviting body. Aramus stiffened and resisted, pulling out of her embrace, once again confused. She looked over to Aramus pleadingly, her arms extended out towards the space marine. Just then, a memory from the past began to replay in front of Aramus. He could see the events of the battle against the Tyranids, and later, the Black Legion within the subsector. Aramus could feel the spewing, green acidic blood from the Hive Tyrant, the cracked, bleeding skull of Ork Warboss Gutwrencha, the dead lifeless body of the Eldar Farseer Idranel of Craftworld Ulthwe, and the putrid stench of the Champion of Nurgle, the great daemon Ulkair. He slew them all with his own hands. And just for a few fleeting seconds, he remembered it all. "Are you…remembering something?"

"…I…I am Aramus, Commander of the Blood Ravens 4th Company. I am HIS angel of death, the Emperor's sword, the Great Father's eyes…I AM A SPACE MARINE!" Aramus yelled out but then struggled to stay conscious. He attempted to yell out the Blood Ravens battle cry but soon lost consciousness before he could finish. "AND NONE SHALL FIND ME WANT-"

Mercedes became wide-eyed, almost in a state of shock until she was snapped from that state from Aramus' loud fall onto the floor. In a panic, she quickly pulled Aramus with all of her might back onto the bed. She stared into his closed eyes, thinking over everything he had just revealed about himself, sighing quietly.

"Nice to meet you too, Aramus of the Blood Ravens." Said Mercedes as she gently ran her fingers through his short, neatly gelled hair. "Even if you are an angel of death, you're still an angel."

The sun had risen and morning was upon the whole Maple World. While most were busy within Elluel carrying on about their daily business, Aramus awoke with a splitting migraine and again had great difficulty recalling any information, including his realization the previous night. He looked over to the chair and noticed that instead of Mercedes, there was a tray of food, most likely his breakfast. It had been quite some time since Aramus had actually ingested anything that resembled food and despite the food being very foreign to him, he readily took to it. He engulfed the fine elven pastries and several varieties of fruit. After he had his fill, he looked over to his artificer power armor and then his chainsword, _Vengeance of Cerberus_.

"A raven with a drop of blood…" Aramus said to himself, inspecting the Blood Ravens insignia and the Assault Marine four-way arrow icon upon his right pauldron. On the left pauldron was a commander's golden aquilla. However, another thought had dawned on him, something from his instincts that told him to look in his backpack on his armor. From it he saw other pieces of wargear: his personal combat knife (_Honor of Pilea_), Thaddeus' purity seal (_Invocation of the Primarchs_), his iron halo _(Light of Mikelus)_, a jump pack (_Wings of Shrike_), a Mark 6 Corvus-pattern helmet, blind grenades, some of the broken shards of still-somewhat intact artificer armor (_Golden Armor of the Custodes_), a flask of blessed oils and promethium gifted to him by the Grey Knights in the aftermath of the Kronus campaign, and broken remnants of his thunder hammer _(Hammer of the Nameless)_. His hand reached for the combat knife and inspected it with awe. "Magnificent craftsmanship…"

"Nice to see you finally up and not unconscious for once, Aramus of the Blood Ravens." Mercedes spoke out as she smiled at the still rather confused space marine. He turned back, his face beginning to turn a light red at the sight of Mercedes. Considering he hadn't felt any emotions besides rage, anger, sadness, and hatred; controlling foreign ones were next to impossible for him.

"I…I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." Aramus stammered out as he placed his plasma pistol back into his belt holster.

"Really, it's not a big deal at all. I'm only returning the favor, Aramus. You saved my life." Mercedes said as she came closer to Aramus and kissed his cheek. "You at least remember your own name now right, Aramus?"

"Yes…" he responded back. "Forgive me, but, where exactly am I? What…planet is this?"

"You are in my village, Elluel. The last remaining refuge for the elves in the Maple World. This planet, is Earth." Mercedes said as Aramus contemplated in deep thought.

"Earth…The name seems somehow familiar to me. A place in which I hold dear in my heart, almost to a point where I feel a divine connection to a great immortal man that seeks to dominate all of my thoughts. The purpose for my very existence…" Aramus said as he picked up his chainsword. "But yet here, now, I feel nothing…Why is that…"

The question seemed to be more rhetorical in nature but nonetheless Mercedes attempted an answer back. She paused at first, but then finally spoke up.

"I know so little about you, and even you know so little about yourself. The entities you worship are likely very different than the ones that are revered on this world." Mercedes said as she sighed, lightly playing around with her golden locks. "But, for one reason or another, fate has brought you here. I was raised to believe that there are no coincidences; that things always happen for a reason. Aramus, I wish to help reveal your new purpose to you if you would open yourself up to me."

"This whole thing…it feels wrong to me. Like this shouldn't even be happening…" Aramus responded as he looked out the window. "You know I have this feeling…this voice that tells me to wipe out this whole village because it as an affront to my beliefs; that I need to kill you as well. It tells me to do terrible things, but yet I do not know why it urges me to do these things. To not know the reason why I am being urged to commit atrocity on such a grand scale is unnerving…"

Mercedes was taken slightly aback as she felt a twinge of fear, but then immediately shook the feeling; reasoning to herself that if he truly wanted to do so, he would have done it earlier.

"But does your true heart tell you to kill me and my people, or is it the voice inside?"

"You have been more than hospitable towards me, fed me, and nursed me." Aramus spoke. "I don't want to kill you…it's hard to describe this feeling I have, I've never felt it before. It feels so foreign, but…I…" Aramus stammered out before Philius knocked on the door very lightly as he entered, bowing to the queen and nodding towards the space marine.

"Good morning your highness. And you, visitor." Philius. "Your highness, it's time to begin taking care of the daily business. Empress Cygnus has requested audience with you in Ereve, she wants to discuss stationing more knights in Elluel and-…"

"Good morning to you as well, advisor. I'm aware Philius. I'll take care of that in due time. In the meantime, I will take Aramus outside and show him around the village, and maybe get a bit of training in too." Mercedes told her senior advisor and with a slight smile. "Hopefully I'll get to see what his weapons can do…That is, if you wish to join me, warrior from the heavens?"

"Yes…Yes, I'd like that very much." Aramus replied as Mercedes smiled again and walked out of her chambers with Philius noting additional items on the daily royal agenda. Being a young (in relative terms to an elf) queen was tough and very demanding on Mercedes. But her people relied on her to be a beacon of strength and to be their savior when the times counted. Aramus meanwhile cycled through his last wargear _Victory Over Death_, a highly treasured plasma pistol. It was used by Captain Thule during the Kronus Campaign and with it, he fell three Necron tomb spyders that cropped up in a surprise attack on the forward base during their assault on the Thur'Abis Plateau. Again, the good Captain used it to full effect during the assault on the Eldar in Tyrea, completely wiping out a formation of Fire Prism tanks. Underneath the shattered remains of his thunder hammer was the slightly battered form of a child's stuffed animal toy. Aramus carefully inspected it as he held the deformed toy into his hands and then began to remember the memories and feelings associated with the object in question.

_It was years ago in the Cadian sub-sector near the Eye of Terror, his squad of Blood Ravens were assigned to a local village that also happened to be an important supply hub. Their main duty was to make sure the village didn't fall into the hands of the traitor legions that assailed Cadia itself. However, it was only Commander Aramus, then-Codicier Babylon, and a handful of tactical space marines armed with bolters, plasma guns, and the like that were left to protect that cursed hamlet. It was then that the traitor marines of the Word Bearers Legion began to assail the village with relentless onslaught after onslaught of heavily armored vehicles and endless waves of debauched marines. But yet, Aramus and his outgunned band of Blood Ravens stood firm and repelled them with equal fervor. Soon, the dead of the Iron Warriors stacked so high around the village that his own men began using their bodies as shields to incoming fire and as natural barricades for incoming enemy vehicles._

"_HOLD STEADY BROTHERS! FOR THE EMPEROR!" Aramus rallied his troops on as he smashed his thunder hammer into the face of yet another Iron Warrior traitor, blood squirting forth everywhere. Just then Babylon approached him and yelled out._

"_Brother Aramus, we must leave! Orders from the Chapter Master, the Black Legion is on its way and he wants no contact with them! Your orders, Commander?" Babylon asked as he continued shooting out lightning from his hands but saw the oncoming hoard of Black Legion marines._

"…_Chapter Master Kyras and orders be damned…We stay and fight. This village and all of its people will be massacred if the Black Legion take it from us! BROTHERS! WILL YOU FOLLOW ME INTO HELL'S PIT?!" Aramus yelled out and in response his brothers pounded their fists into their chests. "NONE SHALL FIND US BLOOD RAVENS WANTING!"_

"_And none shall find you wanting, brother." Babylon responded. "Emperor preserve us all!"_

_And so the ensuing battle raged on, the dead of the Iron Warriors soon began being replaced with the dead of the Black Legionnaires. But there were simply too many traitor marines and not enough Blood Ravens and soon the Chaos marines began to make their way into the hamlet. Some of the civilian populace had already been killed by the traitors, which infuriated Aramus to no end as he rang for help on the vox communicator. _

"_Attention! This is Commander Aramus of the Blood Ravens 4__th__ Company! We are in need of reinforcements immediately! The hamlet is about to change hands to the Black Legion traitors unless something is done quickly to rectify this!" Aramus yelled._

"_Commander Aramus, you were ordered to leave that hamlet! We won't be able to-" the communications cut out before the other Blood Raven could finish._

"…_That was it. We're going to receive no help now…But I'm not going to let these traitors have this hamlet for nothing, they'll take this hamlet from our cold dead hands! FOR THE EMPEROR!" Immediately he charged forward, dislodging an Imperial Guardsman's abandoned heavy bolter as he began firing it indiscriminately at the oncoming traitors, felling them one by one. Seeing their commander's final act of bravado inspired his other battle brothers as they charged forward too. The leader of this particular Black Legion warband was a Chaos Sorcerer named Neroth and seeing the frenzied Blood Ravens forced him to recoil just a tiny bit since he wasn't expecting that much heavy resistance. Aramus had depleted the heavy bolter of rounds and threw the weapon at a nearby Chaos marine and pulled out his power sword. With his jump back, he left with a fiery glow and slammed hard back into the ground, knocking back all enemies and sliced right through the head and upper torso of the sorcerer. Aramus himself knocked back by the powerful, but daemonic Chaos energies that emanated from Neroth, but charged forward again, this time for the killing blow as he slammed Neroth back into the ground and stomped on his already deformed face, leaving nothing but a trail of blood where his foot stood. The other traitors were in a panic, scattering which ever way until finally in the distance came a small group of Ultramarines in their characteristic blue armor._

"_We came as quickly as we could, brothers. But it looks like you crushed the traitors." The Ultramarine Commander said. "You fight without fear, Commander Aramus."_

"_I know no fear. None shall find us wanting, Ultramarine." Aramus responded._

"_Courage and honor, Blood Raven." Titus likewise responded and nodded. The Ultramarines had already taken to task the mopping of the hamlet of Chaos forces while Aramus and his men waited for the thunderhawk transport to pick them up. Aramus looked around and found a severed, bloodied arm that belonged to a child. He went forward to the grizzly scene and found the body in which it belonged to; a young boy not much older than 6. Shock, nor horror came upon his face, only cold stoicism. He then knelt down and picked up a slightly burnt, disformed stuffed animal that likely belonged to the boy and just then, a wave of sadness washed over the young Commander. He went over to the boy and gently closed his eyes and covered him with a blanket. Babylon soon informed him that the Thunderhawk had arrived and followed his men onto the aircraft as he nodded to Commander Titus once more he turned and sat down, awaiting to be brought back to the Litany of Fury and be lectured by Commander Thule on the importance of "following orders". However, Aramus still felt an object in his hand, it was the child's toy. Ever since that day, Aramus kept it with him forever. _

Aramus paused for just a minute as he held onto the toy, almost as if he was attempting to remember something but then something deeply began to haunt his mind. He shook violently, dropping the toy, his hands covering his head.

"Brother Babylon! Help me! Get it out of my head! My mind!" Aramus didn't even know the name of the person whom he shouted out for. But he knew deep down he needed someone with strong psychic powers to reverse the attempted invasion of the Astartes' mind. Just then Mercedes ran back into the room and knelt down next to Aramus, very gently placing her hand upon the back of his head as she guided him back onto his feet.

"Aramus, are you okay?" Mercedes asked once more with greater concern than the last.

"…I…" Aramus stammered out as he looked into her crystal blue eyes that seemed to calm him further as he shook his head. "I think I am okay…I just…I don't know what that was all about."

"Come, let us leave this place Aramus. I want to show around the nearby Maple World, that, and I think Empress Cygnus wants to see you." Mercedes said as she took Aramus' hand into hers, forcing a small blush upon the queen's face.

"Empress…Cygnus?" Aramus asked, confused as he had only known one Emperor in his entire life, but one whom he was struggling to remember.

"Yes, the Empress of the entire Maple World; her royal imperial majesty Cygnus. She rules this world with benevolence, but with each passing day she seems to grow weaker by some machination of the Black Mage most likely. But this world needs her strength and leadership more than ever in these dark times." Mercedes continued as she guided Aramus outside of the royal palace and looked around to see her village of elves going about their business as everyone turned to stare at the rumored visitor that had been under Mercedes' care for days now. Everyone marveled at his unnatural large size and the strength that followed him. "I don't agree with it, but Empress Cygnus requested audience with me, and she asked specifically to bring the one that defeated two of the Black Mage's bodyguard."

"I…see…" Aramus said as he stared back at the elves that stared into his own eyes as he continued on with Mercedes in hand. A little girl looked on at the two, but paid special attention to the space marine.

"Mommy, who is that? Why does he look so different from us?" the little girl asked her mother as she quickly took the child back into her home, locking the door behind her as she spied the marine suspiciously out the window. Aramus sighed quietly to himself, already feeling more like more of an unwanted outsider to her village than he did before.

"Aramus, don't worry. It'll take some getting used to, and for my people as well. To them, you're something completely new, the likes of which many have them have never seen. They'll eventually grow to accept, maybe even like you." Mercedes said with a bright smile as they started come up towards the merchant vendors that had set up their tents for the day. "Good morning Erwin!"

"A lovely good day to you, your highness. Have you any interest in my wares today, my Queen?" The middle-aged merchant responded as he smiled. Aramus carefully looked at some of the things that he was selling, the least of which were loads of red and blue concoctions sealed within small glass jars. Looking further he could see an assortment of meat and fruits, and behind all of that, arrows and subi-throwing stars as well. He found it odd that a merchant that sold food was also selling weapons. On an Imperial planet, and without consent from the planetary governor and a license to sell weapons; the punishment for such a crime would have been a summary public execution as to make an example to those who even thought about dabbling in the black market. But despite such draconian policies, the black market thrived anyway.

"Just some red and blue potions please, 100 of each, please." Mercedes requested as she began pulling out her pocket book that contained but a very small fraction of her vast wealth.

"Your highness, you don't have to pay me anything. You are my queen and thus you own this kingdom and shop." Erwin replied as he busily stocked a sack with her requested amount of potions but Mercedes ignored his plea and gave him a stack full of meso coins; around 50,000 meso to be exact.

"Your wife is expecting, and you need all the help you can get to ease the hard pregnancy for her. It's very important that your child is born healthy and without incident, for the good of our people and this kingdom." Mercedes said as she smiled. "Give my regards to your wife and tell her to visit me with your child after it is born."

"Thank you very much! You are most kind, your majesty. I certainly will." Erwin graciously accepted and bowed in turn to Mercedes as she turned to Aramus.

"Here. These are for you. You'll need this for where we intend on going through." Mercedes said as she handed over the sack of potions over to Aramus; the astartes took it and placed it carefully into his storage pack at the rear of his armor. "The red ones will restore your health, the blue will restore your energy."

"I see, do they work quickly, or will it take time to take effect?" Aramus asked, almost instinctively as he usually did during most mission briefings.

"They work instantly as far as I can tell. Your physiology may be a little different, but I don't think it will affect things that much." Mercedes replied as she looked over to the weapons merchant. "That man over there is the weapons merchant of the town, Ethos, the one that sells armors and weapons, and arms our militia in the event of a war or hostile attacks from nearby monsters. Over there is Hermes, the storage keeper of the town. If your storage pack gets too full, take your items to him and he will keep them safe. The good news is there's a storage keeper in every major town and as such all of them are linked so you can recall items from anywhere in the world."

"The armory keeper, can he fix my thunder hammer?" Aramus asked.

"Most likely not. That hammer of yours seems a bit beyond our technological means, and for that matter, so does the rest of your armor and equipment. But it certainly does seem much more powerful than ours." Mercedes said but then smiled. "Glad you're a good person and on our side."

Aramus wasn't so sure about that last remark but nodded in agreement anyway as she continued to show him around the rest of Elluel. She eventually came upon a giant music box that had one of those antique speaker horns attached to it. Immediately the music box responded to Mercedes and proceeded to play a quiet, soothing song that seemed to resonate throughout the whole village. The astartes looked around him as pink blossom petals rained down around him, the sun shining brightly against his gleaming gold and red armor. The beauty, the serenity of the village was almost enchanting to him and a welcome diversion to all of the horrors he had seen in the past, locked away deep in his memory. However, soon he was broken from his thoughts as Mercedes beckoned for Aramus to follow her up a set of stairs and to where the oldest, but wisest of all of Elluel's elders, Astilda, the Elder of Life (Philius being of magic, and Danika being of all things war and battle related).

"Aramus, I want you to meet the wisest of all the elders, Astilda. She is the oldest elf still in existence and has helped my mother when she was queen and myself as well in running this kingdom." Mercedes said as Aramus knelt on one knee.

"It is an honor to meet you, Elder Astilda. May none find you wanting in heart and mind." Aramus greeted her in his usual manner, though he still had no idea where the last part of his greeting came from.

"The honor is mine, strange visitor from the stars. And likewise, may the Great Spirit watch over you and protect you." Astilda said as she lightly curtseyed. "I want to thank you for helping protect our village and the queen."

"I am sorry, but, why are you thanking me? All I did was defend myself against two individuals with hostile intentions." Aramus replied back as he got back onto his feet.

"Dispatching of two of the Black Mage's bodyguard isn't an easy thing to do. Whatever they wanted from you, it seems that they really wanted to either capture you or kill you." Astilda continued. "Nonetheless, if you had not defeated them where they stood, there is no telling the amount of destruction they could have caused here in Elluel, and most likely they would have slaughtered all of the elves here…"

Aramus merely nodded back as a gesture of welcome and friendship as Astilda continued to speak.

"Mercedes and some of the villagers think you have the strength of ten male humans…Is this, true young one?" Astilda asked.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't remember much, but I suppose I do have some measure of extraordinary strength." Aramus stated. "As well, I'm not exactly young myself. I barely remember anything, perhaps next to nothing about myself aside from my name and possibly my age. I can tell you that I am at least 150 years of age. After a certain point, I think I had stopped counting."

To this, Astilda and Mercedes merely grinned to themselves and smiled as she spoke up again.

"Oh my child, to me, you are still very young in mind, but your face; it wears so many scars and burdens. They tell a sad story; one of constant trial and tribulation, and one of unspeakable horrors." Astilda said as it took Aramus slightly aback, almost as if his mind's lock was about to come loose and undone. "However, you and Mercedes are similar in age. For you see, we elves do not age in the same sense or time as regular humans. Queen Mercedes will continue to look as youthful as she does for many more centuries to come. Perhaps you should consider taking her hand in the sacred bonds of the soulbinding?"

Immediately Aramus looked down, almost embarrassed, turning several shades of light red while Mercedes shot Astilda a death glare but at the same time also blushing.

"Astilda! That's really not an appropriate thing to say in front of him!" Mercedes yelled out as she tried her best to control her own emotions while the elder elf merely laughed heartily to herself.

"Oh come now your highness. You can't go without a husband forever, and you can't keep letting what happened with Freud haunt you forever. This kingdom also needs a strong king to help you, that's partially what drove your mother to…" Astilda stopped herself as to not bring up a sore subject with Mercedes as she shook her head but then looked over to the still blushing space marine. "Besides, this gentlemen over here seems like a rather suitable and attractive young mate. He's strong, seems to have a good enough head on his shoulders, and acts nice enough."

"ASTILDA! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mercedes shouted out as Aramus quickly excused himself from the rather awkward social situation. But then he froze, who in the Emperor's holy name was 'Freud'?

'_Is this what normal humans call, jealousy?'_ Aramus thought to himself. _'But it's just not possible. I barely even know Mercedes, and as well I can't because I-…I…'_

Aramus tried to think long and hard to finish that last sentence, but as hard as he tried, he just couldn't and just shrugged it off. Mercedes, somewhat disgusted with the situation decided to walk back down the stairs towards Aramus but not before Astilda called out to her queen once more.

"No, your highness. I must plead with you this time, please, you need a soulmate. I always look into your eyes, and despite all of your beauty, your youthfulness, and your cheery demeanor; you're still just a lonely little girl that's in desperate need of a real best friend, someone who you can confide in and share your life with. Your poor mother, Great Spirit let her soul rest, died because of the loneliness. When your father died, she just absolutely refused to undergo the soulbinding ceremony with another because she felt it would be disloyal to your father." Astilda said concerned, but then narrowed her eyes and smiled ever so slyly. "Besides, if you don't take him, an old woman like me could use a bit of excitement in my private chambers from time to time and I definitely have my eyes on that attractive piece of man down there…"

"YOU…YOU! YOU WOULDN'T! YOU'RE AN ELDER AND MY ADVISER, YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE SPEAKING OF SUCH THINGS!" Mercedes screamed out in shock and horror but then quickly covered her mouth as Aramus looked back up at her quizzically. "Even then, it's just not proper for a woman of your high position!"

"Mercedes, is everything alright up there?" Aramus asked.

"Y-Yes, everything is fine Aramus. I'll be down in a minute." Mercedes blushed again as she turned back towards Astilda.

"Mmm, just as I suspected your highness. You heart has already set out for his. I know when love is about to blossom, and I can see it in you now when you look at him." Astilda said in almost a teasing, but good-natured manner. "Go on, go to him and show him around. Perhaps if the human legends are true, maybe he will be all of our saviors when the final battle comes. Go on your highness, I will take care of things here."

With that, Mercedes lightly bowed and went down the stairs towards Aramus who was already pulling out his plasma pistol and his chainsword, the other elves within the village viewing him with a kind of awe as she placed her hand atop his armored shoulder pauldrons.

"Are you ready Aramus?" Mercedes asked as Aramus nodded. "Great! Let's go!"

The two set off from Elluel and into the lush green forest from which Aramus first made his planetfall. He could feel the familiar feel of his chainsword and plasma pistol, but the bulky melee weapon he held seemed so foreign to him at the same time; almost as if he had forgotten how to use it with swiftness and ruthless efficiency.

"This is rather strange, it almost feels like…" Aramus trailed on as he attempted to swing his bulky chainsword but strained to keep it steady and even. "…like I've forgotten how to use my own weapons that I came here with, I just don't understand it. And my iron halo, it appears to have ceased functioning properly. I know it's supposed to emit a glowing refractor field of some sort for added protection."

"Perhaps we should start off with an easier, lighter set of weapons." Mercedes suggested which then triggered something within Aramus' mind as he remembered he possessed a lighter, most likely easier to use (for now) combat knife. This particular knife, was a master-crafted combat knife, the very same knife that he had used (with much futility) against the powerful Chaos witch Morga before his mentor Commander Thule could slay her. A second glance at the combat knife one would have called it a sword instead due to its massive size, but indeed it was a knife for even before Aramus became an Adeptus Astartes he was already quite imposing in size. The knife in question was crafted with the sharpest, most advanced form of adamantium and steel alloys the Imperium had to offer. He pulled out the combat knife in question, the blade itself appeared silver in color but had a bluish tint to it. Upon the hilt was the outline of the crest of the former Planetary-Governor of Pilea (Aramus' home planet before it was subjected to a Blood Ravens/Inquisition exterminatus) that turned traitor after being seduced by Morga but it appeared to have been scratched off completely and upon it, the symbol of the black raven of knowledge and the blood drop of purity emblazoned over.

Soon after unsheathing his knife, a tidal wave of memories from his pre-Blood Raven life began to come striking back. He could vaguely see two adult figures, one male, the other female. Presumably, he assumed that they were his father and mother. The bald, light complexioned male, appeared to be well dressed in ornate clothing and carapace armor, but much to Aramus' shock his father's sword was covered in blood while he held a plasma pistol in the other hand. His mother however, appeared to be lifeless, bloodied, and devoid of color on her skin. Her long, flowing blond hair wrapped around her white dress that was now stained with her own blood. He could see himself weeping over his mother's body while his father had a grin upon his face, his father clearly under the thrall of his Chaos witch mistress. With fury and rage, he looked over to his father with murderous intent and pulled out his own combat knife as he screamed, tears streaming forth from his eyes, crying out for retribution. Aramus blinked once as he felt his warm tears flow down his cheeks, almost hoping the nightmare before his eyes would end and when he opened his eyes once more, he saw Mercedes' crystal blue orbs gazing upon him with concern. His entire body shook with rage, horror, fury, anguish, shock. No matter what emotion one wanted to call it, Aramus was clearly shaken and very much disturbed. However, he still could not piece the entire story together or for that matter confirm the identities of the people that he had just seen as his mother and father.

"Aramus, are you okay? Maybe we should turn back-" Mercedes asked before Aramus cut her off.

"No…I…I'm fine…I don't know what came over me, but whatever it is, it's over now." Aramus responded as he began doing random attack movements and patterns with his combat knife. The both of them soon spotted a pack of green gel slimes and orange mushroom monsters on the way. "What are those…peculiar looking creatures that approach us?"

"The green ones are called green gel slimes. They usually have a strange smile on their faces even when they get hit. The orange ones are called orange mushrooms, or 'mushies' as most of us call them. Here, let me show you just what exactly I can do…" Mercedes said as she gracefully leapt high into the air with her bowguns drawn. She then quickly proceeded to use her rising rush attack, forcing most of the orange mushrooms and gel slimes high into the air and then finished all of them off swiftly and with precision with a hail of magic arrows. She had gone so fast, Aramus had a hard time keeping up with her movements. "Pretty nice, wasn't it?" she said with a grin "Here, now you try."

With an almost inhuman fury, he furiously charged ahead. Despite his bulky-looking power armor, Aramus ran surprisingly fast, and with his combat knife in hand he ran towards his first target: green gel slime. Almost as he started his charge the blade of the knife pierced the gel slime monster, forcing green squishy bits to splatter all over Aramus himself. Immediately after he sliced an oncoming orange mushroom, and stepped on yet another, his ceramite grieves going through the peculiar mushroom monster. Here he was, showing exactly why he was called an efficient killing machine, and yet he had no recollection of any memory with the Blood Ravens or being an Astartes. The mushroom itself was stunned by Aramus stepping upon it and immediately the marine went in for the execution blow, his combat knife piercing right through the top of the mushroom cap as it screamed out in agony. With his mighty strength he lifted the impaled mushroom upon his knife and pulled out his plasma pistol and fired a single, charged shot, forcing the hapless orange mushroom off his knife and onto the rest of the orange mushrooms and gel slimes as the plasma charge itself exploded, killing both the impaled mushroom and the rest of the lot. Mercedes looked upon Aramus with a sense of awe but with a small twinge of fear.

"That…was pretty impressive…" Mercedes managed to get out as Aramus dropped the plasma pistol while he screamed in agony. The plasma pistol's magnacore had overheated and caused an overheating in one of its cooling mechanisms that control the rate of fire, rendering the weapon unsafe for further use since the weapon could explode. While it was still possible to use it later on after some complex repairs, it would be some time before it can be fired again.

"The infernal thing just overheated!" Aramus yelled out as he carefully attempted to take the plasma pistol back into his storage pack on his armor. "I honestly don't know where I learned to fight like that, but it's as if my mind just takes over and does the rest for me."

Looking around, Aramus noticed that there was an assortment of drops, including various pieces of clothing/armor, weapons, slime gels, and orange mushroom caps. A bit puzzled as to what they were, he went over to them and very lightly poked at one of the slime gels that dropped. It was very squishy.

"What in the Emperor's name are these things?" Aramus asked quizzically, continuing to pike at the slime gel. Aramus seemed to be deriving a childlike pleasure and curiosity from poking it.

A smile formed on Mercedes face upon seeing the mighty warrior poking at the object and said "Every time you kill a monster in this world, they usually drop some meso, our form of currency, and some other items. Sometimes certain pieces of gear and equipment will drop, but usually it's stuff like random drops like mushroom caps and the slime gels that you're poking at right now. I would go ahead and start collecting those drops, you might need them later on for various quests." Mercedes suggested. Aramus nodded and began picking up the various drops littered all over the grass. As Aramus continued to pick up items, he noticed a peculiar looking object, something that seemed to glisten from the sun's reflection deep in the ground. It was a lone golden spike that protruded from the ground and with fervor he dug up the earth around it as if his life depended on it. Mercedes looked over with curiosity and knelt down next to Aramus.

"What is it Aramus? Did you find something?" Mercedes inquired as Aramus failed to respond but finally plucked the object from the ground and revealed a golden circlet that had spikes protruding from its edges, almost like a halo made from gold and iron. It functioned much like Aramus' own iron halo, except for its outward appearance. He could sense a dormant, but very immense power from the unknown artifact, which was really an ancient relic; one that Aramus would have been very familiar with had he not lost his memory. But despite that, an aura of familiarity seemed to surround the object in question as he carefully inspected it.

"It is as if I know what this is, and yet…" Aramus trailed off as Mercedes finished off his own sentence for him.

"And yet, you don't?" Mercedes finished as Aramus nodded, placing the wargear into his storage pack along with everything else. However, it wasn't completely lost on him that it seemed to resemble other parts of his armor.

"When you found me in this forest for the first time, was there anyone else nearby that fell to this planet with me?" Aramus asked her in an almost serious, dire tone.

"There was no one else. When you fell to the planet, you fought the Black Mage bodyguard alone. As it was, the fight was already heavily one-sided in your favor. Had there been another with you, the henchmen would have likely fled instead of trying to fight." Mercedes spoke out. "But, there has been rumors floating around according to Philius. Your arrival caused quite a stir and literally shook the ground; enough to register as an earthquake by this world's top minds. There was…another recorded ground shake in a far off continent called Edelstein. I don't know much about it other than that."

"Perhaps the answer to my memory loss lies in that far off continent. I must go there and find out what really happened to me that night…" Aramus said as he looked on into the sun-filled sky.

"We can head over there once we're done in Ereve and have met the Empress." She responded back and placed her hand on his. "I promise, I will help you regain your memories and your great strength. I owe you that and much more, Aramus."

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Well, hope you enjoyed this! Please leave constructive criticism, comments, and of course, review!


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